We left Moab today to travel to Durango, Colorado. This will be the 4th state we have been since this part of our trip began – the previous ones being Nevada, Arizona and Utah. 

En route there was another National Park we wanted to visit – Mesa Verde, which is home to archaeological sites and mesa/cliff dwellings of the Puebloan people who lived in the area for over 700 years. 

As we only planned to stop for a few hours we decided we’d do one of the recommended hikes, along with the scenic drive which winds along the road taking in the views of deep canyons and stunning vistas. 

The hike we did was the Petroglyph Point Trail. This was a fun and challenging trail and felt very different to previous trails we had done. The terrain was narrow and rocky, with several steep drop offs along the canyon wall. Half way around the trail you saw the petroglyphs. 

After the hike we did the scenic drive, ‘Mesa Top Loop’ – here you can stop at a number of viewing areas to see the unique cliff dwellings. It’s hard to believe there were once thriving communities in these dwellings. Not exactly the safest place for children to be running around in! 

Once we’d left the park we headed to Durango and we were in for a bit of a shock because not only was it a big town, but it was a lot busier than we imagined. Having come from areas lacking in people and atmosphere we were surprised to get to the local brewery to grab some food only to find it was packed and we’d have to wait an hour for a table. It was a shock to the system to have to hang around the bar for a while, waiting for people to leave. Apparently it’s a top destination for winter sports so we shouldn’t have been at all surprised that it was busy.

We have an early start tomorrow as we are doing our scenic steam train ride through the mountains and we have to be on the platform by 8:45. Should be a great trip and we look forward to sharing the highlights on the blog for you soon. 

Si has a post coming very soon on that so don’t miss it.

Lucy